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While researching on press releases yesterday, I came across this type of service where they sell media citations to get you social proof.

Basically, you send them your press release (or they'll write one for you), then send it to their news affiliates (not exactly sure what these are), you get mentioned on these major news websites, and that gives you the right to use those logos like "As Seen On CNN/Fox".

From a social proof standpoint, I can see how much this can benefit new businesses.
Imagine customers see these logos under your homepage banner, and during the Checkout page itself. It kind of gives them assurance and the perception that "Wow, if these guys are mentioned on Fox and these major news outlets, they must have something going for them!"

It's not illegal and more of a grey-area thing.

My question is : how do these things really work (anyone knows the insides?) and will it backfire on me if I use these guys? My finger is just a click away from their Buy button lol

Follow me on my journey : Progress ThreadIf you can create a product that is better than your rivals' but you don't, due to self-doubts/laziness, and let your target market use your rivals' inferior products, that IS a very SELFISH CRIME and you need to be jailed.

I read an post recently describing an insider's perspective on how risky it is to be the editors and journalists who accept payment for that kind of thing. Because it is big money for them... but if they get caught, they're typically fired. And being fired from a juicy mainstream media position isn't something that most of them want to do. So they do it very carefully if they do it at all. Sneak in your mention as if it's "organic" and "natural."

I would do a lot of research on the methods and success rates of these companies that are selling that service. Because my biggest expectation would be that there is a loophole in the contract where they will "try" to get your story published but not guarantee it. They take your money and your story never gets published.

Better route to take: Write up a great press release, pay the money to put it on PRWeb, and then have it picked up LEGITIMATELY by the news outlets. Then you can still say "as seen on NBC/CBS/etc" but you don't have to run the risk of losing money on nothing.

Free option: Develop contacts with journalists and send them your press release instead of paying PRWeb to send it to them. (This can be time consuming and tricky to navigate, but the approach I'd take is this: Look for any recent stories that have been published on products like yours. Note the author's name. Reach out to them individually and say something along the lines of, "Hey [Name], I saw your story on ____ and thought you'd be interested to also cover [my product] which is for [target audience]. It's a [insert benefits and/or surprising/delightful features here]. Here's a press release I wrote up for you so that you can see if it's something you'd like to write about."

I read an post recently describing an insider's perspective on how risky it is to be the editors and journalists who accept payment for that kind of thing. Because it is big money for them... but if they get caught, they're typically fired. And being fired from a juicy mainstream media position isn't something that most of them want to do. So they do it very carefully if they do it at all. Sneak in your mention as if it's "organic" and "natural."

I would do a lot of research on the methods and success rates of these companies that are selling that service. Because my biggest expectation would be that there is a loophole in the contract where they will "try" to get your story published but not guarantee it. They take your money and your story never gets published.

Better route to take: Write up a great press release, pay the money to put it on PRWeb, and then have it picked up LEGITIMATELY by the news outlets. Then you can still say "as seen on NBC/CBS/etc" but you don't have to run the risk of losing money on nothing.

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Hi, just realized you changed your user name!
Anyway, I came across these articles about these "As Seen On...." logos:

I was chatting with one of the guys in the three links above just now about how these works.
It seems like they don't really submit the press release to the actual news outlet, but do it in such a way they the news gets "syndicated". For example, according to him, ABC is a media outlet rather than a news outlet, and ABC aggregates news. So, in my case, my press release would be pick up and syndicated and displayed somewhere obscure on their site (not on the front page of course), and for this, it gives me the right to use "As Seen On ABC" on my site!

Well, not illegal, just a bit questionable and raises a bit of eyebrows.

The problem with writing great press releases and doing it the "legit" way, is that it seldom gets noticed by reporters unless it's something earth-shattering, like "Company X launched Curtains 10 to crush Windows 10" or "Company Y invents new material that will replace bulletproof vests in 3 years".

The main use of these "As Seen On...." logos is actually not for traffic, but purely to be seen by others as the "go-to trusted expert" and "authority".

Follow me on my journey : Progress ThreadIf you can create a product that is better than your rivals' but you don't, due to self-doubts/laziness, and let your target market use your rivals' inferior products, that IS a very SELFISH CRIME and you need to be jailed.

That's interesting. I didn't know how it worked. So it's kind of a workaround for products that aren't earth shattering enough for them to become "big news."

You're right that it's hard to write a press release that's "newsworthy" enough to get picked up the traditional way. And "Look at me, I released a product" is hardly ever newsworthy unless, like you said, it's some super cool new technology or whatever.

But—a down-to-earth story about somebody who overcame tremendous odds to do something big would totally be newsworthy. So maybe your press release is not ready to be written yet... but your progress thread, and the story of how "a graphic designer making only $X/year managed to design, manufacture, ship, and sell [this viral product] that pet owners everywhere know and love"—THAT is totally newsworthy. And of general interest. And something that the "money / finance / business" columns of papers everywhere would totally pick up.

So... just keep that up your sleeve for when your product goes gangbusters...

Wish I could help but I know it is definitely on another thread here somewhere, I read it about a year ago. Somebody will know where it is and be more definite on its location. Good question and good luck.

Classic bro-marketing strategy. Effective for fooling the consumption masses, probably. For myself, I know when I see those media logos I'm being manipulated by a money-chaser.

Press-releases are massively syndicated which makes them appear on these websites on some buried back page. Yet using the logos makes the drive-by think the guru was featured on the front page in headline news.

That said, it probably is an effective method of social proof. And my thoughts (and jaded knowledge on it) probably doesn't mean much.

What if life wasn't just about paying bills and then dying?Burn life's SCRIPT and learn how to build a business that pays more than money; it pays freedom.Unscripted: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship-----------------------------------------------------
** Amazon ** Website ** Download ** Instagram

Classic bro-marketing strategy. Effective for fooling the consumption masses, probably. For myself, I know when I see those media logos I'm being manipulated by a money-chaser.

Press-releases are massively syndicated which makes them appear on these websites on some buried back page. Yet using the logos makes the drive-by think the guru was featured on the front page in headline news.

That said, it probably is an effective method of social proof. And my thoughts (and jaded knowledge on it) probably doesn't mean much.

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Appreciate everyone's feedback here. Now let me take out my wallet; my index finger has been itching to press that buy button!

Follow me on my journey : Progress ThreadIf you can create a product that is better than your rivals' but you don't, due to self-doubts/laziness, and let your target market use your rivals' inferior products, that IS a very SELFISH CRIME and you need to be jailed.

Classic bro-marketing strategy. Effective for fooling the consumption masses, probably. For myself, I know when I see those media logos I'm being manipulated by a money-chaser.

Press-releases are massively syndicated which makes them appear on these websites on some buried back page. Yet using the logos makes the drive-by think the guru was featured on the front page in headline news.

That said, it probably is an effective method of social proof. And my thoughts (and jaded knowledge on it) probably doesn't mean much.

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I have no doubt they are effective as social proof. I've bought courses and books from websites with these logos. They always gave me the impression that they had a TV appearance on a morning show because what they were doing was so beneficial to society. That's strong credibility right?

Now days I'm extremely skeptical of anything I see online. So much that is presented to us as reality was really manufactured.

As other posters have mentioned, you don't need this service to claim that you're been seen on those major news outlets. You just need to publish a press release with any one of the dozen top PR distribution services. Those press releases get picked up by the syndicated networks. They're added to a feed on an obscure corner of their sites. At that point, you can claim you've been seen on ABC or whatever. This is just an overpriced press release distribution service. You can get the same value for a hundred bucks or less elsewhere. Just Google "press release distribution."

And if you really want to become an authority on some subject in the media, you should try Help a Reporter Out. But that's going to take some effort on your part.

I have no doubt they are effective as social proof. I've bought courses and books from websites with these logos. They always gave me the impression that they had a TV appearance on a morning show because what they were doing was so beneficial to society. That's strong credibility right?

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Agreed. You use what works, which is why they strategy is used. For the general populous, it gives that "air" that whatever the guru is selling was featured on TV or in some major news.

IMO it is kind of a slippery slope...

Like advertising "I drive exotic cars" (implies you own them) when the truth is, you rent an exotic car for a day, or drive your buddy's once a year. You told the truth, but not the implied truth.

What if life wasn't just about paying bills and then dying?Burn life's SCRIPT and learn how to build a business that pays more than money; it pays freedom.Unscripted: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship-----------------------------------------------------
** Amazon ** Website ** Download ** Instagram

Why not create something worthy of getting ACTUAL publicity instead? If you're applying shady tactics to your website what other parts of your business will get the same treatment?

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As mentioned in my 2nd post, what are the chances of one's products getting picked up by the media? It's hard as it is just to get picked up by the small fries, let alone the big names. Also, not all products are news-worthy which is what determines whether something gets picked up or reported in the news. A product can provide value but might not be a "media darling".

Anyway, this is a short-term strategy. I intend to use these big names to get initial social proof/street cred/"legit"/authority, then use these to attract the tiny outlets / blogs, then swap out each of those purchased logos with these real blog/tiny media outlets' logos.

Kinda like using a big fat bait to attract the smaller fishes, then once you have the smaller fishes in your hand, use those to attract the medium fishes and so on.

Last edited: Nov 6, 2018

Follow me on my journey : Progress ThreadIf you can create a product that is better than your rivals' but you don't, due to self-doubts/laziness, and let your target market use your rivals' inferior products, that IS a very SELFISH CRIME and you need to be jailed.

The day I got legitimate national press/backlinks was the day I ranked #1 on Google for literally all of my keywords for years. Do that method.

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Yes, and it was legit! Featured on real shows on real TV! And that's the shame of this -- you got real newsworthy PR (worthy of the icons) -- most other people do not.

What if life wasn't just about paying bills and then dying?Burn life's SCRIPT and learn how to build a business that pays more than money; it pays freedom.Unscripted: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship-----------------------------------------------------
** Amazon ** Website ** Download ** Instagram

I disagree. Social proof matters. Reviews matter. Good copy in the product description matters. Good images and videos matter. It's not only about the product. You can have the cure for cancer but if people don't trust you they won't buy it.

I'm not saying getting these "as seen on tv" images will or will not help. I'm saying you need a little bit more than just the product.

I disagree. Social proof matters. Reviews matter. Good copy in the product description matters. Good images and videos matter. It's not only about the product. You can have the cure for cancer but if people don't trust you they won't buy it.

I'm not saying getting these "as seen on tv" images will or will not help. I'm saying you need a little bit more than just the product.

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I agree about social proof, although the “as seen on tv” or CNN / fake news endorsements I would stay away from.

“The world is full of money. Some of it has my name on it. All I have to do is collect it.” ~ Felix Dennis

I think the best way is the organic, legit way. Creating a media kit and scanning through a lot of articles to find a few journalists that love your niche or your product/services field and open discussion about it, offer them to try the product, etc. Don't ask them straight away to be mentioned anywhere. If they really like what you gave them, they'll give you feedback about it and eventually they will probably write an article about it if you caught enough of their interest.

I feel like the other way goes back to the "fake it 'till you make it" mantra.

I know I will read this everytime I post something.Jeff, go execute, damnit. Stop wasting your time, it won't ever come back !​

There is no doubt that being organically mentioned by high authority media works better that paid press release buried somewhere on the affiliate website.

The question is, would simply placing a FOX or NBC logo on your offer page help you convert more people? Without getting into ethics or legality of it, I think it would.

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Oh, definitely. As MJ mentioned in a previous reply to this thread, the simple presence of these logos will affect the "simple buyer" right away. It makes them think "This thing is awesome, even if I have no idea what FOX said about it".

I have no doubt that sales would only go up.

I know I will read this everytime I post something.Jeff, go execute, damnit. Stop wasting your time, it won't ever come back !​

As mentioned in my 2nd post, what are the chances of one's products getting picked up by the media? It's hard as it is just to get picked up by the small fries, let alone the big names. Also, not all products are news-worthy which is what determines whether something gets picked up or reported in the news. A product can provide value but might not be a "media darling".

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If it provides value but not a media darling then why bother trying to get credibility via those channels? Millions of businesses and companies kick a$$ without ever being mentioned on mainstream media.

As for the social proof, fake stickers on a website might help sure, but nothing beats social proof like getting actual sales, having actual happy customers, and having them become your cheerleaders. Focus on making a great business and have a sh*t load of customers.

It's just my opinion but I think trying to obtain social proof from BRO marketing tactics will simply translate to other areas. Fake bait for the smaller fish, then inferior product, or sales pages that lead to no where to "test" peoples responses because they're only small so what difference do they make, its a slippery slope of circle jerking without really getting anywhere. Make your thing great, make it absolutely f**king spectacular, then the cred you seek might start knocking on your door, and you get the choice of wether you want/need it or not.

Ultimately, however you go about it is up to you, no one will ever know your business the way you do, pick the path you want and crack on!

While researching on press releases yesterday, I came across this type of service where they sell media citations to get you social proof.

Basically, you send them your press release (or they'll write one for you), then send it to their news affiliates (not exactly sure what these are), you get mentioned on these major news websites, and that gives you the right to use those logos like "As Seen On CNN/Fox".

From a social proof standpoint, I can see how much this can benefit new businesses.
Imagine customers see these logos under your homepage banner, and during the Checkout page itself. It kind of gives them assurance and the perception that "Wow, if these guys are mentioned on Fox and these major news outlets, they must have something going for them!"

It's not illegal and more of a grey-area thing.

My question is : how do these things really work (anyone knows the insides?) and will it backfire on me if I use these guys? My finger is just a click away from their Buy button lol

Click to expand...

Not illegal, but unethical or disingenuous, at best. I think this gimmick works only with people who are naive to marketing. Moreover, the market has become flooded with people using these logos on their profiles. Greg Wells (Weils?) was selling this service several years ago, and maybe he still is. guys like him are the ones benefitting from it.

Not illegal, but unethical or disingenuous, at best. I think this gimmick works only with people who are naive to marketing. Moreover, the market has become flooded with people using these logos on their profiles. Greg Wells (Weils?) was selling this service several years ago, and maybe he still is. guys like him are the ones benefitting from it.

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Thanks, I'm still on the fence regarding this and may put it on the back burner. The thing that prevents me from sleeping soundly at night is what if customers found out and call me out on it, post on their social media etc.

The other option is to use small time news logos instead of the big ones like Fox and ABC etc, so it doesn't look over the top.

Follow me on my journey : Progress ThreadIf you can create a product that is better than your rivals' but you don't, due to self-doubts/laziness, and let your target market use your rivals' inferior products, that IS a very SELFISH CRIME and you need to be jailed.

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The Fastlane Forum is an entrepreneur discussion forum based on the UNSCRIPTED® Entrepreneurial Framework outlined in the best-selling books The Millionaire Fastlane (2011) and UNSCRIPTED (2017).Learn More